GO Virginia awards $11.1 million in economic recovery grants

The state’s GO Virginia economic development initiative announced Wednesday that it has allocated $11.1 million in grants to advance economic recovery efforts across Virginia, including a $1.45 million award to create a statewide system to support cybersecurity jobs training for Virginia’s defense contracting industry.

“The targeted support that GO Virginia provides is critical to ensuring communities across our commonwealth are well-positioned to succeed in a post-pandemic economy,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. “These projects demonstrate how regional collaboration can drive innovation and deliver positive economic results, including diversifying our workforce, supporting entrepreneurs and upgrading our infrastructure.”

Since it was established in 2017, GO Virginia has funded 182 projects, awarding about $68 million in support of economic development efforts across the commonwealth.

The awards announced Wednesday include:

Cybersecurity Job Creation System ($1.45 million)
Statewide
Old Dominion University Research Foundation will develop and deliver a statewide cloud-based compliance system to aid Virginia’s defense contractors achieve Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) accreditation. Old Dominion University and Eastern Shore Community College will develop a NIST 800-171/CMMC education program to be delivered by the two institutions and other participating universities and community colleges.

Southwest Virginia Regional Ecosystem Initiative Implementation ($290,850)
Region 1: Cities of Bristol, Galax and Norton and the town of St. Paul
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise is partnering with SWVA Startup and Opportunity SWVA to increase the number of entrepreneurs in the region by 2027. The strategy includes hiring a regional ecosystem builder, implementing a virtual accelerator program and focusing on increased outreach and programming to develop a more diverse entrepreneurship community.

Project Fuse ($70,000)
Region 1: Counties of Dickenson, Lee, Scott and Wise, and the city of Norton
Project Fuse will develop an action-oriented plan with business retention and recruitment tools for local economic developers to promote telework employment strategies in the Lonesome Pine Regional Industrial Facilities Authority territory.

Project Thoroughbred ($100,000)
Region 1: Counties of Lee and Scott
Project Thoroughbred’s goals will include adding capacity to the maximum output farmers can produce; strengthening market confidence in the region’s ability to meet quality specifications; diversifying products; and work toward creating jobs for graduates of Mountain Empire Community College’s Grain Management Program.

Dearing Ford Industrial Park ($506,000)
Region 2: Campbell County and the town of Altavista
The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance will manage a project to extend gas service to the Dearing Ford Industrial Park and adjacent publicly-owned development parcels.

Helping Local Employers Prepare the Existing and Future Workforce for Industry 4.0 ($45,360)
Region 2: Counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke, the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem, and the town of Vinton
The Learning Factory in Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, in partnership with the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center, will address the need for trained talent in Industry 4.0 technology skills in the region. The project will convene employers and stakeholders to help identify areas of needed growth in Industry 4.0 such as necessary new technology, skill gaps among the current and future workforce, areas of potential collaboration and others.

Lynchburg Beacon of Hope ($97,740)
Region 2: Amherst County and the city of Lynchburg
Lynchburg Beacon of Hope will develop a Playbook for Future Centers to provide a programmatic guide of its existing Future Centers model that will focus on in-demand careers in the region’s targeted industries of manufacturing, information technology and life sciences.

Building a Regional Health Sciences Talent Pipeline ($100,000)
Region 2: Counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke, the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem, and the town of Vinton
The project will establish the Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Science Careers to work as a consortium with public institutions and private employers, helping them to more systematically collaborate to leverage resources and align curriculum with employers’ future growth strategies.

Minority Small Business Launch Center at Virginia State University ($453,000)
Region 4: Counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Henrico, Prince George, Surry and Sussex and the cities of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Hopewell, Petersburg, and Richmond
The Division of Research and Economic Development and the Center for Entrepreneurship at Virginia State University will create a Minority Small Business Launch Center that will provide a comprehensive suite of services for minority business founders and early-stage businesses.

Virginia’s Gateway Region Sites ($1.63 million)
Region 4: Counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Greensville, Prince George and Powhatan and the city of Petersburg
Virginia’s Gateway Region will advance site readiness in GO Virginia Region 4, elevating 15 sites (totaling 1,652 acres) to Tier 4 on the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s Virginia Business Ready Sites Program.

Sussex County Water Study ($96,000)
Region 4: Counties of Isle of Wight, Sussex and Surry
Virginia’s Gateway Region will facilitate a preliminary engineering report for the evaluation of water supply alternatives to serve a 1,000-acre development site in Sussex County.

Campus 757 ($500,000)
Region 5: Cities of Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Portsmouth
The Hampton Roads Workforce Council will create an initiative to increase the percentage of college students who stay and work full time in Hampton Roads.

757 Collab ($2.42 million)
Region 5: Cities of Hampton, Newport News and Norfolk
757 Collab, an ongoing venture of 757 Accelerate, 757 Startup Studios, and 757 Angels, will continue building and delivering new innovation and entrepreneurship programming, capacity, and services to early-stage companies by bringing together an accelerator, private capital, collaborative space, and community outreach programs.

Establishing a Regional Internet of Things Accelerator Program in the Rappahannock Regional Entrepreneur Ecosystem ($215,000)
Region 6: Counties of King George and Stafford and the city of Fredericksburg
Stafford County and partnering localities will collaborate with the Center for Innovative Technology to expand entrepreneurial programs in the Rappahannock Region. Programs will also support the technology-based Virginia Smart Community Testbed in Stafford and provide entrepreneurs with access to the proven Regional Internet of Things Accelerator Program and additional community-focused programming.

Northern Virginia Community College Dual Enrollment Expansion Program for Information and Engineering Technology ($1.11 million)
Region 7: Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park
Northern Virginia Community College, in conjunction with multiple partners, will implement the Dual Enrollment Expansion Program for Information and Engineering Technology (DEEP-IET) to develop regional workforce capacity in IET, specifically targeting information technology and engineering technology.

Innovation Forward ($100,000)
Region 7: Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park
The Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance will undergo a strategic planning process to determine the best approaches to organization and management, budgeting and funding, staffing, policy development, business development activities and brand development.

Accelerating Regionally Significant Sites ($786,333)
Region 9: Counties of Culpeper and Louisa
The Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development will elevate one 700-acre site to Tier 4 on the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s Site Characterization scale and enhance the marketability of a 266-acre Tier 4 site by completing water and sewer engineering studies for the sites.

Expansion of Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program Mentor Network ($882,794)
Statewide
George Mason University will expand the statewide network of Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program mentors, who will support startups and early-stage companies. Services will include assistance with developing strategic plans and accessing funding and grants through a new regional hub service network.

The Future of Workforce Development Outreach ($148,689)
Region 9: Counties of Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison and Nelson
Virginia Career Works – Piedmont will address newly identified service equity gaps by providing targeted assistance to displaced workers who do not have access to a career center or high-speed internet. They will create face-to-face support for job seekers and increase access to training and employment opportunities.

Accelerate 2022 ($100,000)
Region 7: Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and the city of Fairfax
Refraction Inc., in partnership with George Mason University, will launch Accelerate 2022, a multiday showcase and pitch competition that will bring investors from across the nation to fund Northern Virginia startups and high-growth companies.